In the least surprising development of the year, Google will be launching its own location tracker similar to Apple’s AirTags and Samsung’s SmartTag. The device is being developed by Google’s smart home division, the Nest team, and is internally codenamed ‘Grogu’. It’ll reportedly include an onboard speaker, as well as support for Bluetooth Low Energy and ultra-wideband (UWB).
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It has been a long time coming, since Google first spoke about the possibility of such a device at Google I/O several years ago, and the Android ecosystem is primed for it. Now, a developer has found evidence of the tracker when he noticed that Google added support for locator tags in the developer hub for Fast Pair, the Android feature that lets you quickly connect Bluetooth devices.
Of course, Google hasn’t confirmed its existence yet but will most likely come to light at this year’s Google I/O conference. Presumably it would work like the aforementioned competition – simply attach it to whatever you like, and keep tabs on its location with your phone. According to the developer that discovered this code, Kuba Wojciechowski, the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro both shipped with UWB modules, which would allow them to direct you to nearby objects accurately. Furthermore, he notes that Google’s ‘finder’ network won’t require UWB — BLE should be enough.
While UWB is now a permanently supported feature within Android, not every Android device will come with the hardware to enable it. Google is also reportedly working with various mobile chipmakers to help them support Fast Pair. It would enable third-party trackers rounding out the location network, something it’s hard to imagine Apple ever allowing (Apple system only works with Apple products).
The success of the Google tracking tags will be very reliant on its price, which should probably be around the same price as the Samsung SmartTag.
